As Her World Falls Down
by SYDOMNEY
Summary: She had to stop this! She was too old to dive into dreams and wishes wholeheartedly, too old to use the dangerous words "I wish". It needed to end now. She didn't even believe in faery tales anymore, but the problem was, they still believed in her. J S
1. Wake Up Sarah

This will be my very first Labyrinth Fanfic. I have loved the movie since I was the size of a goblin myself, and now I get to dive into the adult world of Sarah and Jareth. I have had these ideas rambling about in my head for some time and they final escaped. I hope you enjoy. All commentary/critiques will be most welcomed :)

* * *

A screaming alarm clock hoisted Sarah Williams from the depths of sleep. Wading through the murkiness of sheets and covers, she let an aggravated hand slam down on the small shrieking creature; instantly cutting off its mechanical cries. Hand still poised on the button as if waiting for rebuttal, Sarah let out a tired sigh, "God I hate Mondays…"

Flopping onto her stomach she sighed again in exasperation, another day at work lay before her. Reveling in the warmth of fleece sheets and a soft bed, Sarah stole herself for the next move: getting out of her pocket of comfort. Gathering as much warmth into her skin she vaulted out of the covers. The cold air of her still apartment wrapped its icy fingers around her body raising hair with each kiss of exposed skin. With bare feet planted firmly on the stiff carpet Sarah shuffled to the bathroom.

Blatantly ignoring the protest from her frozen limbs she placed her face in view of the mirror. She saw a tired woman before her; light green eyes flecked with yellow were glazed over with sleep, fair skin untouched by the sun, a delicate mouth was tucked slightly to one side in disapproval. She smirked at herself, mahogany hair was tousled on one side and the slight darkened rings around her eyes completed the 'I just got out of bed' look.

Sarah sighed again, she was plain old Sarah. Tired of work, tired of her monotonous life, and definitely tired of being Sarah. Running a brush half-heartedly through her hair she spoke, "So what will it be today?" she uttered to no-one in particular.

"Probably the same rotten kids who never put anything away and leave books everywhere…" her reflection answered.

"I know I hate that! They truly are terrible little monsters…" cold water splashed on her face, which ebbed the sleep back; a coarse towel rasped against her lovely skin.

"Oh, yes they are beastly little things…" The reflection added vehemently. Sarah stopped. She placed the towel back on the wrack and stood staring into the mirror, hands braced on either side of side of the sink for support. She caught herself again.

Laughing at her own folly she opened the mirrored cabinet and pulled out a pain-killer for the headache brewing behind her eyes. "Talking to no one again, how embarrassing. Sooner or later you're going to start dreaming of that Labyrinth again" at the thought Sarah grimaced, turning her delicate features upward in consternation. That particular dream had been devastating. She was only fifteen at the time, innocent, rash, and oh-so susceptible to fairy tales. She had dreamed of a Labyrinth… _through dangers untold and hardships outnumbered… _of saving her baby brother…_I have fought my way here to the castle beyond the Goblin City… _and of the figure that still haunted her still: the Goblin King_… Sarah, don't defy me._

Oh, but how she did defy him, she beat his Labyrinth, she met his challenges, and in the final confrontation she had won. For he had no power of her, and now as a twenty-seven year old woman his power was as weak as the intrigues of a fairy tale. Sarah tore her gaze away from the mirror and looked down at her feet. For the briefest of moments her reflection refused to move within the mirror. Its own moss colored eyes bored into her crown before slumping its shoulders in defeat and lowering its gaze.

Back in her modest room, Sarah rummaged in the drawers searching for a suitable outfit for a young librarian. Pulling out a clean-cut button up top, in a color close to rose, she moved to the closet and pulled out a pain of fawn slacks. White cardigan on top followed by Librarian ID card with connecting lanyard, Sarah shoved a pair of tan slip-on loafers grabbed her bag and headed out the door.

* * *

Her library was small, neat and constantly smelled of parchment. It was an old brick building overtaken by the voracious ivy that swallowed its right side. Inside the shelves were so closely knit together one had to walk sideways to travel them. Hardly anyone did though, it was mostly filled with the regular elderly, the studious scholars, and a few sporadic children. She inhaled. The musty odor radiated off the shelves and mingled with the ever constant underlay of dust and age. This was her sanctuary; she was in charge and ordered everything to her liking. Over that day she had hardly any trouble, the regular flow of persons asking for the latest novel, or how to get into the city archives via computer, nothing out of the ordinary. A plain regular day for plain regular Sarah…until around 3:30pm.

A booming crash rivaling a thunder clap shattered the silence; a spray of papers flew into the air mimicking the flight of a coven of doves. In an instant Sarah was out of her chair and marching down the halls, brows knit together and a series of retorts lay waiting on her tongue. Turning a corner she side-shuffled until she found her quarry. A young boy, no older than ten was slumped against a book case rubbing his head, an array of books and papers were spread around him like autumn leaves.

"Out of all the brazen…what do you think you are doing?!" Sarah shouted in her most appropriate library whisper. The boy looked at her in fear and stood up to dust himself off.

"I was just looking' for some things to do a book report. And I had a pile o' stuff there but I fell over it trying to get a book up there." On the word 'there' a pudgy finger pointed to a glossy read spine, even on tip toe the boy couldn't reach it.

Her anger evaporating, Sarah put on a welcoming smiling, "What is your report on?" She kneeled down to help the boy gather his papers

"It's on fairy tales." She looked at the boy who was reaching for a small book about faeries, "Well, not just fairy tales, but how they get passed along to other people."

"That topic seems a little advanced for your age." Sarah voiced. The boy looked at her and stuck out his chin defiantly.

"I am an Honors student. We are supposed to be advanced."

Hiding a smile Sarah stood and smoothed her hands on her slacks. She eyed the shelves and found the book the young boy had so desperately tried to attain. "Here you go." She murmured handing the boy his prize. "Meet me at the check out desk and I'll scan these for you." She turned on her heel and left the boy to his partially cleaned mess of books and papers.

At the kiosk, a sandy head barely topped the rise of the tall counter, "Ma'am?" a small voice beckoned. Sarah leaned over from her chair and peered at the young boy she had met in the shelves. He hoisted a stack of seven books and a multitude of papers onto her desk. "Got all that I wanted." He added with a snaggle-toothed smile.

"Oh good, did you find everything okay?" the unconscious stream of questions flew from her mouth as she rang the books up on the computer.

"Yeah, thanks to you." Standing on tip-toe the fair-haired boy grasped his tower of materials a whirled away from the counter. Sarah smiled a farewell and picked up the book she had been reading, it was a mystery. Something that made you think of the complexities of the human psyche, and it was getting to the point were the young detective was figuring out the killer when a faint voice interrupted her thoughts…

"'_Give me back the child. Through dangers untold and hardships unnumbered I have fought my way here to the castle beyond the Goblin City, to take back the child that you have stolen…_'"

Her breath stole in her chest. Sarah dropped her book and sprang off her chair chasing after the boy. Her entire being was alight with fear; she had to get that book! "Stop!" she called; the boy turned and looked at her in obvious confusion, "Give me that book right now!" Sarah didn't hesitate and snatched the open book out of the boy's pudgy hands.

"Hey, lady I was just reading that!!!"

"Too bad…this book is no longer available. Its…its," she stumbled looking for a lie to present, "its been checked out by another person. So sorry. Must have slipped my computer's registry, have a nice day." With that final note she turned and fled.

Her feet slamming against the hardwood floors, Sarah found an old office and shut herself in with a hearty _slam_. She slumped against the door breathing heavily, her heart thumping wildly in her throat. Small shivers crept up her spine, raising hairs and leaving gooseflesh in their wake. Sarah looked down on the glossy red book she held so tightly to her bosom, it couldn't be… She had made sure that it couldn't have even made it into the library. So why had she acted on fear? Was she overreacting?

No. She was a confident, determined, and a successful young woman. Not a fearful child acting impulsively upon wishes and dreams. Sarah peeled the book away from her chest and let her eyes fall on the cover, she gasped, all color left her face as the blood drained from her mind. Her body stiffened, for there on the front embossed with gold lettering, were the words The Labyrinth. 

* * *

She left work at four that day. Driving home practically on autopilot, she didn't even remember getting in the car…she was frazzled. Her every sense was on alert, at any moment the butterflies would erupt from the confines of her stomach and burst from her tightly clamped lips. Getting home in record time, she fumbled in her pocket for the keys to her apartment and shoved them in the lock. Creaking, the door opened and slammed shut as Sarah raced for her tiny bedroom. She threw her cardigan and bag on the floor, ignoring the tiny voice in her head that told her to be reasonable.

She threw the book onto her bed. As it flew threw the air its leaves rustled in protest, rasping and grumbling as if it knew how it was being treated. Sarah shivered. Landing with an inauspicious _thump_ she half expected it to attack her or to open a portal to rip a gash in reality and swallow up her modest apartment. Sarah stared at its glossy scarlet cover, so intense on her off-white coverlet. It had no place in her life; too dramatic, too strange, it was for children…and yet she wished to open its yellowed pages.

Darkness had fallen and Sarah's stomach grumbled in complaint. What was she going to do? Sit in a dark room and stare at a book? _Certainly not!_ Her inner self told her. _It's just a book, a book that spurred the overactive imagination of a fifteen year old girl. _

"No…" she said to no one, "no, I am just fooling my self. It was all a dream." But her body told her otherwise, it told her to fear him, to love him and his Labyrinth. With hesitant hands, Sarah whisked the book off her bed and placed it on her nightstand and began to undress, her mind was goin a million miles a second thinking of how that cursed book had gotten into her library; her sanctuary! Ignoring the protests of her stomach Sarah slithered in between the fleece sheets and tried to get comfortable. In the morning she would take the book back to the library and place it in storage so no one could find it.

That was it. No more fear. No more anxiety, she was an adult. Sarah rolled over to face the book lying on her nightstand in the dim light she could still see it. Its crimson face seemed to glow from within, as if it collected the dying light of her room under its skin. It held her captive. She opened her mouth, "I wish the Goblin King was here."

She closed her eyes expecting a wicked laugh to startle her or the tittering feet of goblins and other monsters running about, but nothing happened. She opened her eyes to stare at the unmoving book, its red color transformed into deeper shade closer to blood than red. Sarah sniffed, so much for being an adult! Her childish fear had gotten the better of her, she blushed at the idea. Perturbed by her own actions Sarah rolled away from the book and wormed her way deeper into the covers, trying to release the stress and tension within her body into the bed. She was tired and today had been too much for plain, regular, Sarah. She had disturbed the sanctum of her library, running around as she had done. Those surprised stares followed her still. Closing her eyes she let her body relax and waited for sleep to take her. The grey twilight crept from the back of her eyes like a heavy fog unfurling its tendrils. Everything it touched slowed, suddenly taken by sleep; Sarah too felt her limbs melt into her bed. She would deal with it all in the morning.

"Hello Sarah" a proud voice purred.


	2. Its All In My Head

A scream tore itself from Sarah's throat. Bed sheets and covers were strewn away from her body as she took flight, she ran into a wall shoulder first. A blooming pain spread throughout her right side while her opposite arms shot out and grasped the doorjamb to her bathroom, nails scraping along the plaster. She looked for an escape in the pitch black of her bathroom; nothing could be made out, so from memory Sarah pressed herself into the corner between the sink and the bathtub. She sank to the floor, legs no longer able to support her weight; her pulse was racing, lungs caught with terror, she couldn't think. The chill of the tile crept into the soles of her feet, sliding and slithering until finally it lay waiting and heavy in her stomach. Desperate pants escaped her lips, "No… no…its not-he's not…"

Clicking heels echoed loudly in the darkness of her bathroom. Sarah held her breath, she was imagining everything. This was all a bad dream and she would wake up. A soft scrapping shattered her thoughts; it was the noise of a boot heel grinding into the tile. Sarah pressed both hands over her mouth as if to smother all noise that came from breathing. This was all a dream, a stupid dream induced by frazzled nerves…

Jareth let his eyes adjust to the darkness of the bathroom, with a slick of his eyelids the darkness evaporated into a pearly twilight. _Oh, look at her now. What a stunning creature…aren't you wondering how she would looking absolutely nak-_ A smirk painted itself on his lips, she was here. Cowering and shivering, either from cold or terror he didn't seem to care…his mind was ultimately captivated with the realization that she was here. He raised a booted heel off the tiles…

Sarah heard a footfall, after the period of silence she could have sworn that she had woken from her nightmare. Now it seemed that her dreams were becoming unpleasant realities. Her heart lept into her mouth choking out any sound that could give away her position, she would scream from the anticipation of what lay with her in the dark. More footfalls of boot heels…coming closer.

Jareth saw her in the dark, which wasn't so dark for him. His keen eyes drank in the sight of a disheveled Sarah huddled in between the tub and a sink, her hand was covering her mouth. He grinned, like a cat that found a new play thing; turning his head from one angle to another, he took a long look at the girl that had defeated his Labyrinth. _Come on_, his inner voice goaded, _scare the shit out of her! Make her fear you as she should_! What would he do? He clearly saw her neck, which was pulsing rapidly with her heartbeat and he could smell her fear; a tang that hung in the air and mingled with her own smell.

"Sarah." He called, neither a command nor a question.

Sarah frowned. Not just an ordinary frown but a furrow of the brow that indicated the thinker was contemplating her own sanity.

Jareth smirked a bit, one side of his mouth lifting in amusement. _Oh we liked that look, maybe we should play with her a little bit before hand…_He saw the look on her face and took two more steps towards her; she had let her hand fall from her mouth and now it rested on the tile. Kneeling by her, she flinched still unable to see him in the depths of darkness.

"Sarah," he whispered relishing the taste of her name on his tongue, "Sarah, get off the floor."

"No" she whimpered in a watery cry, "no you can't be…"

_Look at her! Crying, ha! Make her pay, Jareth. Take her to the top and let her fall. _"I can't be real?" He answered her statement. "Oh, Sarah but I can be very real." With that he took hold of both her arms purposely digging his fingers into the silk of her skin. Sarah let out a startled cry as she was wretched to her feet.

Oh god he was real! He was real, here, and in her bathroom! She could feel the strength of his hands bruising the flesh on her arms, the ironic softness of his leather gloves caressing her skin as he levered her to her unsteady feet.

"Sarah" he called again, "I am going to turn on the light." Not waiting for her reply he found the switch with his magic and the yellow florescent rays swathed them both in harsh light.

Sarah cried in alarm. Her eyes filled with the sight of the man before her. Twice now he was real. He legs began to shake, an uneasiness crept into her spine; cold and unrelenting.

"What's wrong Sarah? Surprised?" Jareth looked into her frozen face a smiled devilishly; his lips sliding over predatory teeth.

The bottom of Sarah's stomach dropped out and she fell headfirst into a cold faint.


End file.
